Should SNAP benefits be received via a food box? Not so much, experts say.

By Adam Wagner GateHouse Media

Monday

Mar 5, 2018 at 9:00 AM

Federal budget calls for a program with some benefits received via food boxes

A federal proposal to overhaul food benefits for Americans in need has drawn criticism and questions from food providers and experts in Eastern North Carolina.

As of December 2017, about 658,000 North Carolina households received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, according to N.C. Department of Health and Human Services records. In its 2019 budget proposal, the Trump Administration called for an overhaul of the program, including cutting funding and sending many recipients a box of American-produced food every month.

Lindsey Haynes-Maslow, an N.C. State extension specialist who researches SNAP, said, "I know that the Administration still wants to think innovatively and they want to think, 'How can we solve a problem?', but I think they should first ask, 'Is there a problem to be solved?'"

The answer to that question is "no," according to experts and North Carolina food banks, who point to SNAP as one of the federal government's success stories. By proposing the reforms, they said, the Administration has raised unanswered questions about logistics, as well as human dignity, and that nonprofits would be unable to fill any gaps created by the program.

'A cornerstone nutrition program'

The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina distributed 70 million pounds of food -- or 59 million meals -- across a 34-county region looping north from Scotland County and around the Triangle area before running Southeast across Pitt and Lenoir counties to Craven and Pamlico counties before running back to the South Carolina state line. If the changes move forward as proposed, the food bank will not be able to meet anticipated demand, warned Peter Werbicki, the organization's CEO.

"SNAP is a cornerstone nutrition program and we would not be able to make up for the lost meals that would result from these program changes," Werbicki wrote in an email.

The USDA reports information about SNAP by congressional district, with about 49,700 households receiving benefits in the N.C. 7th district that includes Brunswick County and Wilmington before running to the outer Raleigh suburbs during the 2016 fiscal year. Those households reported a median income of $15,727, with 74.6 percent of households including someone who has worked in the past year.

In the N.C. 3rd Congressional District, represented by Walter Jones, about 41,700 residents receiving benefits, with a median reported income of $19,411 and 81.4 percent reporting at least one person working during the past year.

Mary's Kitchen, in Kinston, serves about 124 free meals every day, with demand for the lunchtime meal rising near the end of the month, as government benefits run out.

Jim Godfrey, the organization's executive director, said he has not heard people there discussing the proposal, but did wonder how food preferences and allergies would be accounted for in a given consumer's box.

Under the Administration's proposal, the packages would include items such as shelf-stable milk, cereals, peanut butter and canned meats and vegetables. Additional benefits would be provided on an EBT card, akin to the way they are now.

"I understand where they're coming from, but I think they're about to ask for a logistical nightmare," Godfrey said.

'Dignity and respect'

Logistics are one of the areas where the existing SNAP program excels, said Haynes-Maslow.

"It's probably one of the most successfully managed federal food assistance programs in the country with low fraud rates, low administrative rates," Haynes-Maslow said. "It reaches the people it needs to."

Haynes-Maslow pointed to a study conducted by the USDA in 2010 that showed every $1 spent on SNAP resulted in $1.79 in economic activity. As far as fraud rates are concerned, the USDA reported in 2013 that rates had dipped from about four percent to about one percent during a 15-year period. The infrastructure required to choose the food needed for a food box, then pack it and then ship it would likely result in a significantly larger bureaucracy, experts said.

"Ninety-three percent of the money in the SNAP budget goes to the recipients," Haynes-Maslow said. "What would happen with that if we have to find distributors for the items? Who's going to pack the box? And how are we going to ship the box?"

The Administration will, Haynes-Maslow added, need to provide more details quickly if the program is going to gain any traction. Craig Gundersen, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor of agricultural strategy, expressed skepticism that the proposal will become reality.

"There's no way this is going to pass," Gundersen said, later adding, "It brings (SNAP) into the conversation, which is always somewhat worrisome."

Gundersen, who has studied SNAP for about 20 years, said it is a rare federal success story, accomplishing its goal of reducing food insecurity.

"It sets out to do something and it does it," Gundersen said. "Not many government programs can say that."

Gundersen also expressed concerns that the food box proposal would undermine the ability of SNAP families to make choices for their own families, an example of the government treating recipients fairly. Participation would likely, he said, drop if the proposals are enacted.

"People go on programs where they're treated with dignity and respect. SNAP does this," Gundersen said. "All of a sudden, there's a program where once a week or once a month they're sending me a basket of food? Forget it."

Reporter Adam Wagner can be reached at 910-343-2389 or Adam.Wagner@GateHouseMedia.com.

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